Maiden castle: Did you mean...?

The Château d'Amboise, located in the Loire Valley, in central France, was built over several centuries and was the centre of royal power during the Renaissance (from the 15th to the early 17th century). Witness to the heyday of the French...

The medieval Ryukyu castles on the island of Okinawa, Japan are impressive testimony to the kingdom's power and wealth from the 12th to 16th century. Notable castles include Shuri Castle, the royal residence, and four excellent examples of...

The Norman Conquest of 1066 CE brought sophisticated motte and bailey castle architecture to England but it was really in the 12th and 13th centuries CE that stone castle-building reached its zenith. Edward I of England (r. 1272-1307 CE...

Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) was a Japanese military leader who reunified Japan at the beginning of the 17th century after a long period of civil war, known as the Warring States or Sengoku period. He created a new government controlled by...

The Shimabara Rebellion was a peasant uprising that occurred from 17 December 1637 to 15 April 1638 in Japan's southern island of Kyushu. Economic desperation, famine, and religious persecution led the peasants of the Shimabara peninsular...

Colditz Castle in Saxony, Germany, sits high on a precipitous cliff face that towers above a tributary of the river Mulde. First built in the 11th century, the forbidding castle was variously used as a lunatic asylum, a sanatorium for the...

Castle Rising Castle, Norfolk, England. Originally a mote and bailey castle built by the Normans after 1066 CE, the keep was replaced with stonework in the 12th century CE.

Visiting the vibrant and colorful city of Lisbon, on the banks of the river Tagus and the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, what is most showcased is one episode of the city's and country's glorious past: Lisbon as the capital of the Portuguese...

The Château de Chenonceau, picturesquely located astride the river Cher, in the Loire Valley town of Chenonceaux, France is a magnificent Renaissance-style building also known as le "Château des Dames" (the Ladies' Castle). Passing from hand...

Khotyn fortress is a complex of fortifications situated on the hilly right bank of the Dniester in Khotyn, Ukraine. It consists of a 13th-century stronghold and an 18th-century bastion surrounding it. It is one of the oldest preserved fortifications...